Approaching Nathaniel Hawthorne Insight Essay

797 words - 4 pages

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote one of the most studied short story in literature, “Young Goodman Brown”. This short story is widely use because of the deep meaning and strong internal attachment it has with the reader. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts his family had been early settlers, one of his great-grandfather was a judge during the Salem witch trials and had twenty-five women killed. Hearing his great-grandfather talk about this subject made Hawthorne both obsessed and a little ashamed for what his family has done during the Salem witch trials. Hawthorne put those feelings into his stories which in reality explore what the events that happened in the puritans’ life ...view middle of the document...

As Goodman Brown is walking though the forest he keeps looking around afraid thinking that there might lurk something evil or dangerous behind every tree as continues deeper into the woods. The Woods are clearly a literary element many writer use the woods as a symbolism for brown the woods represent the darkness of the outside world, outside his morals of right and wrong.
He meets a well dressed man with a serpent like cane as Goodman Brown gets closer the man greets him as if he has been waiting for him. The man tells Goodman Brown to follow him deeper into the forest, Brown starts to slow down the man offers Goodman Brown his cane to go faster but he denied the use of the man’s cane. Goodman Brown tells the man that he came to their meeting because of his promise to go and not that he has done it he wants to go back to his village. Goodman Brown tells the weird man that all of his family members have been good Christians and good people for many generations, and he feels ashamed to even be talking to this man. The man tells Brown that he knew his father and grandfather, members of the church and even powerful men such as the governor of the state. Brown tell the man that even if he did know them he doesn’t care even though he was very...

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Aylmer is unhappy with her birthmark , " My peerless bride, it is successful! You are
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especially for his vivid descriptions of gloom and darkness. These skills define his
writing and have an affect on the reader of astonishment. The dark gloomy writing
that Hawthorne portrays in all of these stories give an insight to the evil of normal
people and how it has fatal potential.